Petaluma artist finds beauty in sunlight, silence and a burned forest (2024)

After a forest burns, is it still a forest? What is its essence?

Those questions are answered strongly in “Essence of Place,” a new show of works by Petaluma artist Jennifer Mygatt Tatum. Sponsored by Saffron Communities, the exhibit opens at First Street Gallery at the Watershed on Saturday, June 22.

For 15 years, Tatum has periodically retreated to a small cabin in Eldorado National Forest to restore her spirit and connection to nature. When the Caldor Fire of 2021 burnt 223,000 acres of the forest, she took it personally.

Despite the damage, Tatum returned to continue hiking the trails she loves.

Although they were stripped and charred, the trees she found there had a strange and noble beauty. She decided to honor them through her art.

“The challenge” Tatum said, “was how to represent the beauty.”

The show includes six large works from her “burnt forest” series. They feature a remarkable paint she created by grinding into powder burnt bark she had collected on her walks and mixing it with gum arabic.

For a stylus she used burnt sticks.

“I wanted the works to reflect the nature of what had happened there,” she said.

The perspective is as if the viewer were in the middle of the woods.

“The paintings invite you right into space of the forest,” Tatum explained.

Also in the show are five works that Tatum made during a visit last summer to Denmark, where her daughter lives. The artist secluded herself for a month in a small cottage in the seaside village of Gilleleje, north of Copenhagen.

She immersed herself in the long days of sunlight and silence. Like the burnt forest paintings, the Denmark works focus on nature, using the same monochromatic color palate.

Besides painting, Tatum works with materials such as sheet metal and obsidian clay. Visitors to the exhibit will see six versions of the “Wandering Woman,” sheet-metal cutouts of a tall figure in full skirt and sun hat. The image was inspired by a photo Tatum took of herself in Death Valley as the sun was setting. In the photo her shadow extended about the length of a five-story building.

“This image spoke to me,” Tatum revealed. “It said to look within.”

The skirts of each piece are pierced by small cutouts, made by a plasma cutter, that suggest pleats and allow light to pass through the figures, for striking effect.

“I love them in the garden,” she said.

Tatum was supported in her work by several local craftspeople. The frames were hand-made from one plank of walnut by Tony Plaut. The cradled wood boards were fashioned by Chris Mckee at the John Annesley Company in Healdsburg. The mounting of the works on wood backs was by Hamish Hafter. And the hand-crafted metal bracket to hold one piece of burnt bark was by metal smith Jennifer Moore.

Saffron Communities, the enthusiastic sponsor of Tatum’s show, is three years old and consists of nine volunteers who organize a wide variety of cultural events, including classes, excursions abroad, artist exhibitions, private events and community initiatives. With this show, Saffron Communities is introducing its new Artists Initiative.

Kathleen Holliday, director of marketing and communications, describes it as a group of “like-hearted” people dedicated to fostering art and culture in the community.

Holliday said launching Saffron’s Artists Initiative with Tatum made sense because the artist was one of the first to take a studio at the Watershed when owner Josh Peterson converted it from an old factory.

Among Saffron’s projects, one that focuses on children is titled the Inspired Students Mural Initiative. The community-based art project will provide students at up to 40 schools with the opportunity to collaborate with and be mentored by renowned mural artist Carlos García Walterbach, also known as Charlo.

Students will participate in hands-on workshops, creating their own mini-murals and assist in the creation of a large-scale mural on their school campus. Through this process, Charlo hopes to foster communication, creativity, critical thinking and collaboration skills among the children.

McEvoy Ranch recently partnered with Saffron Communities to create “Art in the Orchard,” in which visitors had the opportunity to stroll in the olive orchard meeting 40 artists and viewing their works.

“We’re working with the Watershed to develop more art exhibits that honor artists in Napa, Sonoma and Marin counties,” Holliday said.